---

News Briefs

---

The Weapons Race

Richard Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev revised for the second time and signed this year, the often heralded SALT pact, a nuclear agreement to limit offensive weapons except those under construction or in operation: The two world kingpins agreed to "limit strategic offensive arms permanently."

Anti-missile, missiles which are capable of destroying nuclear missiles during an attack, are included in the ban. The passage was intentionally designed to make the people of both countries nuclear hostages. Thus, the initiation of nuclear war would become national suicide.

Despite the international excitement over the SALT pact, both superpowers are racing to increase their nuclear capabilities. According to Jack Anderson, two strategic weapons a day are scheduled for production in the US alone through 1977, when the SALT pact is scheduled to expire. A total of 9,690 nuclear warheads will be ready for action. The Soviets will have 4,000 nuclear warheads and twice as many missiles as the US according to the accomodation.

China has called for a ban on all nuclear weapons. While she is waiting for this ban to be negotiated, China is in high gear to bolster her present nuclear stockpile – about 50 nuclear missiles with ranges between 1,000 and 5,500 kilometers. In development is an ICBM with a potential range of over 10,000 kilometers, enough to hit most targets in the USSR or the US.

The Chinese nuclear strategic weapons thrust has the Soviets worried. The Chinese feel the USSR may nip in the bud their blossoming nuclear technological advances and munitions by launching a strategic offensive. The Chinese are proceeding with the construction of underground, bomb-proof missile silos.

The US House and Senate approved a mildly contested $21.3 billion weapons procurement bill for 1973. Included is $1.5 billion for the Trident submarine which will cost an estimated $10 billion over the next ten years and $765 million for the Minuteman III MIRV missile.

New Life on Helgofell

Man has taken on a volcano and won. The Helgofell volcano erupted in January this year and drove 5,000 people from their homes on Iceland's island of Heimaey, finally closing all its fiery spouts in August. Green pastures were consumed as 40 spouts flared simultaneously. Its eruption, late at night, was a complete shock to all life on the small island.

Now it seems that the volcano has died down. Even so, an early warning lookout station in the edge of the main crater is occupied continuously by two volunteers. Their job is to alarm the village of any new eruption. At present, scientists feel the action is over, but it will take Helgofell 300 years to cool off.

An unusual scientific innovation was used for the first time to save the port town of Heimaey. As the ravenous river of molten lava creeped down main streets, nearly 40 giant water pumps sprayed it with six million tons of water and 140,000 tons of salt per day. Gradually the ends of the molten river formed a delta of solidified lava, and the remaining white-red rock flowed to the sides.

The gradual rebuilding and cleanup of the town has been happening since spring when the volcano was still flaming. In those parts of the town which are still inhabitable, the ash reached depths of one-half to ten meters. Nearly 500,000 tons of ash had been removed from the roofs and streets by early August.

Heimaey could have ended as the modern world's Pompeii if the winds had blown as they usually do at that time of the year. Instead, the ash only landed on the town for a brief 18-20 hours; the rest of the time the ash was carried out to sea. At any rate, grass seeds and fertilizer have been dropped over the vast fields of black ash. Some of it has already sprouted, growing grass on a barely extinguished volcano.

Pride and Petroleum

Many factors contributed to that first shot heard around the world of the Yom Kippur War. UN observers report that it came from an Egyptian gun. It was probably made in Russia – the returning rounds made in the USA.

Some analysts see the desire for worldwide oil supremacy as the main catalyst behind Russian support of the Arab nationals, especially Egypt and Syria. In opposition, US assistance to Israel, in part, is intended to thwart Russian ambitions to control the Mid-East oil flow. And modern weapons are supplied to protect the contrary interests.

Western Europe, NATO, and Japan are completely reliant upon Mid-East oil; the US needs additional imported Arabic oil to avert fuel shortages. And from this, the fear grew that the Russians, with partial control of the oil taps through Arab cooperation, could effect "energy starvation" upon the Western world, gaining political compliance.

The Arabs are notorious anti-communists, and some experts claim this has kinked Russian advances. Nonetheless, Arabs are forced to play some footsy with the Russians to get advanced weapons because the US supplies Israel exclusively. The Russians haven't been stopping key Arabic anti-communists from speaking, however, because their words have effectively led to war. If the Russians can gain control over the Suez Canal as a result of renewed Mid-East warfare, they'll be well on the road to their goal.

Holy Family News

Bal Bhagwan Ji and Mata Ji arrived in Denver from Los Angeles on November 30. While Mata Ji gave darshan at the residence, Bal Bhagwan Ji and Guru Maharaj Ji conferred with members of national staff at the national headquarters office building, in some cases remaining until one or two in the morning. Bal Bhagwan Ji and Mata Ji planned to depart on December 2 but were impeded by a blizzard which caused the cancelation of their commercial airline flight to Los Angeles.

Premies, not knowing about the flight cancelation, traveled out to the airport through the snow and then to the residence where rumor had it the two members of the Holy Family had invited the premies, and then back to the satsang hall after being told by a member of the WPC that Mata Ji and Bal Bhagwan Ji were there. The WPC turned out to be correct. Mata Ji and Bal Bhagwan Ji gave satsang until amost midnight. Mata Ji departed for L.A. the next morning and Bal Bhagwan Ji remained in Denver.

Guru Maharaj Ji spoke before members of the national staff at dinnertime, November 28, (see his message, printed on page 10 of Divine Times, Volume 22). He announced his intentions to go on a national tour to personally speak to all the premies. He flew to L.A. Saturday, December 1, 1973.

Raja Ji is in L.A. with Bhole Ji who is looking for a suitable house for the bands. The musicians flew to L.A. from Houston on December 4. Before they arrived Jeff Bridgeford and Bhole Ji began listening to the tapes made by Stax Records at Millennium with the intent of producing a "live at Millennium album."

A Surprising Cereal

"The, only cereal with the creamy filling," Mr. Wonderfull's Surprise is a new General Mills product still in the marketing stage. Whether it will ever reach the supermarkets, though, is a highly controversial issue at the moment. Harvard University's Jean Meyer, 11 nutritionists, 18 consumer groups and the Center for Sciences in the Public Interest have attacked the $800 million per year corporation for introducing "another junk food."

Research indicates that the new cereal contains 30 percent sugar, 14 percent saturated fats and extensively processed rice and corn. General Mills contends that their 75 pre-sweetened cereals make breakfast fun. One spokesman said, "Our cereal with milk and juice is a complete breakfast. After all, a breakfast a child doesn't eat provides no nutrition at all. We appeal to his taste buds." But nutritionists claim that no breakfast at all is better than one offered by General Mills. They argue that unhealthy, industrially processed foods create poor appetites, as well as disease.

According to testimony before the Senate Hunger Committee in September, 1973, it costs the nation $30 billion a year in health care because of low nutrition, "convenience foods" and poor eating habits. Dr. George M. Briggs, a University of California professor of nutrition stated, "The costs to society of undernourished mothers and their sickly infants; physically and mentally retarded children; absenteeism in the working force and school children; the great loss of life from cardiovascular disease and hypertension; the costs of dental decay, alcoholism and diseases of diabetes, obesity, digestive disturbances, osteopoesis, can be attributed in part to poor nutrition."

Harvard's Jean Meyer testified that TV commercials are miseducating people, causing them to stray from healthy foods in support of "junk" foods. In support, Senator Richard Schewieker, R-Pa., who is chairing the Senate Hunger Committee, proclaimed the U.S. "a nation of nutritional illiterates."

Letters

Dear Editor,

"The lines that separate the sons of men are made of straw, and just a single breath of love would blow them all away." Aquarian Gospel, Chapter 82:22.

Perfect love sees beyond the differences in men and sees only that we are all children of God. In as much as we all deserved to be born, deserve to eat and sleep, deserve to feel the freshness of a spring rain or the warmth of the sun, (for these blessings fall on all), we also deserve to be loved.

Christ was the example for men of perfect love. In this age, Guru Maharaj Ji has come to show us how to love perfectly. He opens up the spring of love that lies in every man so that it may come bubbling up freely to fall on all our brothers and sisters. I have felt that spring gush forth from inside me, after receiving his Knowledge and his grace. Praise God!

Jai Satchitanand, Your spiritual sister, Nancy Bishop

Dear Editor,

We seek the cause, the source, the essence of all things because with our five senses we experience only the effect, the image, the reflection of what is. This, nevertheless, tends to make us feel not whole, realizing only the outside influences of an unknowing insight. Knowing that what is within us is also without, sparks our will to seek and inevitably find. We can't have Knowledge without darkness, how else would we know the difference in opposite forces. In emerging our consciousness into the essence of this truth is shed a new perfect light much brighter than ever can be imagined with our minds.

In this oneness of truth sits the whole being of Guru Maharaj Ji, because what is within him is outside also. The divine source of energy is gracefully without doubt bestowing to us the outside energy of material toys so as to play the infinite game of creation-destruction. In the meantime we realize these material manifestations are needed to carry on the game.

Take for instance the energy of wood which is a sound sturdy piece of energy. In taking into account that it comes from the same source of being as all of us, this wood remains no longer in an objective sense, but becomes subject to do service for the perfect one. When different pieces of wood taken out of the imperfection of chaos and disorder and put together in a form to be used in service for love of what makes us who we are, it is beauty.

I am grateful beyond words of bliss to be willing and able to relay what bits and pieces of realization I can muster up from the subtle regions of my spirit as it bathes in the holy waters of God to my brothers and sisters. Peace be with you as it is with us all.

Terry